American biotech company Moderna (MRNA) released a preview of its latest COVID-19 testing data on Monday, revealing that its vaccine has been proven to be 94.5% effective in the latest round of testing. In addition, this vaccine has been shown to exhibit an even longer shelf life in the refrigerator than was initially expected.
While Moderna’s vaccine candidate can survive for 30 days in a refrigerator operating in regular temperatures, it has been proven to survive for up to six months in temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius.
According to the U.S. Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar, Moderna’s vaccine is more amenable to the delivery needs of pharmacies due to its stability in a wide range of temperatures.
Moderna’s latest testing data has ensured that the Massachusetts-based company is now in pole position in the race to a coronavirus vaccine, competing side-by-side with the likes of Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX), who have partnered to produce a vaccine that has proven to be more than 90% effective in clinical trials.
Following its promising results, Moderna is now looking to file for an emergency use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
